Celebrity designer and stylist Jason Christopher Peters called the world out on all of its bullshit laws and horrific practices during his latest fashion show in Atlanta, GA! Now more than ever, political messages are being creatively intertwined within fashion designer's pieces. Fortunately, Gaye had the privilege of witnessing Jason's eye-opening statements through the use of his beautiful models last night, and he certainly delivered.
"This is the first time I am showing these new pieces," Jason began in his opening statements. "This whole show is about equality. So I want you to walkaway being more open minded."
If you are unfamiliar with Jason C. Peters, a former model turned celebrity designer for 19 years strong, you will quickly learn that his signature trademark is a cute bear wearing a stylish bow tie. One of his most popular designs is a cheetah bear hoodie, which was seen being worn by celebrity athlete Ocho Cinco during New York Fashion Week.
As expected, new designs showcasing his iconic bears were seen on several of the models during the show. Our favorite was the Equality Bear hoodie, which displayed a rainbow bear with a red bow tie.
What's most important about attending one of Jason's shows is understanding his attention to detail. From the models makeup to their hair styles, every characteristic on his models have an important meaning.
"The braiding [of the model's hair] has to do with my theme because I feel like when you're not allowed to be yourself you are tied down," Jason said.
Some of the model's heads were fully covered in colorful hair pins, which also meant something important worth mentioning.
"This symbolizes when your strong and you're fearless and you have a voice, then [you wear] a powerful helmet on like a warrior."
The show became even more interesting once models strutted out and posed unapologetically in paper cutouts labeled with statements addressing political and societal issues.
Statements included were: "Love is Love" spelled over a beautiful rainbow heart.
"Save the Earth", "Black Models Matter", "Stop Child Marriage", and "It's My Choice!"
"So this piece, (It's My Choice) addresses the abortion [laws] they are stopping in all the states. You have the blood in the eyes in the eyes because you are separating women's freedom. You have "Save the Earth" because you know we are killing the Earth everyday slowly and slowly. And this is "Black Models Matter" because I don't feel black models get enough exposure in the industry. And this is obviously "Stop Child Marriage" because it's really big in foreign countries where it's okay to marry a ten year old and that's crazy to me. And "Love is Love", basically you can love who ever you want, no matter what you are and it really does not matter, and this is perfect pride."
We felt these messages really resonated with the audience, especially the "It's My Choice" message due to Georgia's controversial "heartbeat" law, a recent piece of legislation that bans abortions after about six weeks into a woman's pregnancy. As unfortunate as this law could be to men and women everywhere, we are happy to see that Jason was moved enough to share his views on the issue.
In addition, Jason's diversity in models was rather refreshing. He even included child models to showcase his brand.
"I like giving the younger models a chance to get the exposure they need and give them an opportunity to experience something different than most of Atlanta's [fashion] shows," Jason said.
We had a chance to speak with some the models to get their opinions about their overall experience and if they felt moved by wearing powerful statements.
"I like to have different concepts of things. I feel like he takes his craft very seriously. In Atlanta sometimes anything goes, but for him he was like I want things this way and that way, not in a rude way, but {he was like}, "this is what I take seriously," and I like that and it makes me want to work with him again in the future," said a model who wore the Black Model's Matter cutout.
Another model by the name of Mary Kate, who wore "Save the Earth", added, "This was my third time working with him and it was a good show. I do feel that what I'm wearing is an important cause and we should all work on saving the Earth more because we do have to live in it and it'll all make it easier."
Jason's designs continue to level up in creativity and visionary meaning. Awareness can ultimately spark change, and Jason Peters definitely brought more awareness to these issues at this event. Jason said he plans to end designing pretty soon, however he plans to go on tour in September, and plans to give a different message at each show.
Be sure to follow Jason at @jasoncpeters on Instagram and shop his designs on his website at JasonChristopherPeters.com!